Operation Carthage - Shellhus
Bombardementet
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Shellhuset i København var Gestapos
hovedkvarter, under tyskernes besættelse af Danmark i 2.
verdenskrig. Her var alle arkiverne om den danske
modstandsbevægelse, modstandsbevægelsen havde i længere tid bedt
Royal Air Force (RAF) om at bombe Shellhuset, da de gerne så disse
arkiver ødelagt, kort forinden havde en ligende aktion fundet sted
mod Gestapos hovedkvarter på Aarhus Universitet.
21. marts 1945 løb operation Carthage af stablen, og 18 Mosquitofly med i alt 44 stk. 500-pundsbomber
lettede fra en flyvestation i Østengland (Fersfield i Norfolk) og
fløj over Nordsøen og gennem Danmark i lav højde for at undgå at
blive sporet af den tyske radar. Med på turen var 2 ekstra fly,
udrustet som fotofly samt en eskorte på 30 mustang-jagere.
Over Tissø skiltes første bølge fra og fløj videre over Sjælland
mod København, mens resten af flyene kredsede søen rundt. Efter
hver omgang skiltes næste bølge fra, således at 3 bølger med ca. 4
minutters indbyrdes forskel fløj videre mod København for at bombe
Shellhuset. |
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Fejlbombardementet af Den Franske
Skole
Avisklip:
Den franske skole
står i flammer.
Engelsk bombemission ender i
tragedie
af Christine Sass-Nielsen og Ida Liebe Bentsen
I går, d. 21. marts, styrtede et engelsk bombefly ned ved Den
franske Skole, i København, som resulterede i en fejlbombning af
skolen. 112 børn og voksne er foreløbig omkomet ved den tragiske
begivenhed, og flere hundrede er såret.
“Det er formiddag og luften er lun. Skoledagen er i fuld gang, som
den plejer. Sirenerne lyder over byen. Den efterhånden trivielle
procedure med, at få samlet alle børnene i rækker, og få dem ned i
beskyttelsesrummene i kælderen, begynder.
Pludselig lyder der et voldsomt brag, og hele huset ryster omkring
os. En lærer løber febrilsk hen til det nærmeste vindue og kigger
ud. Det hele står i flammer.
Kort tid efter ryster det igen, men denne gang er det skolen, der
er ramt. Der opstår vild kaos da mursten falder ned om ørene på os,
og røgen fra flammerne begynder at blive kvælende tæt. Alle prøver
at komme ud.“
Dette var hvad en lærer på Den franske Skole oplevede, efter at
skolen var blevet bombet ved en fejltagelse.
Hvad de ikke viste på skolen var, at det var et engelsk bombefly,
som var styrtet ned, hvorefter at de andre piloter troede at dette
var Shellhuset, deres rigtige mål.
Shellhuset er blevet benyttet af Gestapo, og her har de også haft
deres arkiv, derfor var det et oplagt mål for de allierede.
Bombningen var i forvejen problematisk, da Gestapo havde anbragt
danske modstandsfolk, blandt andre Poul Sørensen og Mogens
Fogh.
26 modstandsfolk reddede sig ud af bygningen, mens 8 omkom. Der ud
over mistede 10 engelske officerer livet og 12 civile på Sønder
Boulevard. De tyske tab lyder foreløbig på 74, hvoraf 23 var
danskere i tyske tjeneste.
De allierede har i længere tid aflyttet telefonsamtaler mellem de
tyske hovedkvarterer i København og Berlin, og har fundet ud, at
tyskerne havde planer om at udføre den hidtil største razzia i
København, i slutningen af denne måned.
Følgende telegram blev derfor sendt til London d 15. marts:“
Militære ledere arresteret, og planer er i tyskernes hænder.
Situationen har aldrig været så desperat. Vi omgruppere, men
behøver hjælp. Bombning af Gestapohovedkvarteret i København vil
give os et pusterum. Hvis den danske modstandsbevægelse skønnes at
være af nogen betydning, må De hjælpe uden hensyntagen til prisen.
Vi vil aldrig glemme RAF og Dem, hvis I kommer.”
Missionen lykkedes, da størstedelen af modstandsfolkene undslap, og
alle de tyske arkiver gik til, men det fik desværre katastrofale
følger for de mange familier, som nu har mistet en
kær. |
Mine egne oplevelser:
-
Jeg går tit tur på Frederiksberg kirkegård,
bl.a. fordi jeg syntes der er dejligt og fordi min hustru er
begravet der.
Disse ture har gjort at jeg kender kirkegården ret godt og jeg har
set mange gravsten for dem der blev dræbt ved bombardementet af Den
Franske Skole.
På en af mine ture mødte jeg en ældre dame der spurgte mig om jeg
vidste hvor Adam Ohlenslaeger var begravet, jeg fulgte hende
derover og undervejs snakkede vi om kirkegården og snakken faldt
også på bombardementet af Den Franske Skole, der gik mine børn
fortalte hun.
Den pågældende morgen havde hendes to børn stået med skoletaskerne
i køkkenet og ventede på at deres moder fik smurt madpakker, de
havde været i sommerhuset og deres bil kunne ikke starte om
aftenen, så de var først kommet ind til byen om morgen efter de
havde fået hjælp til bilen og det reddede højst sandsynlig deres
liv.
Hun betroede mig at hun aldrig siden havde klaget over det, når
deres bil ikke har kunne starte, der var jo nok en mening med det,
fortalte hun smilende.
Hun fortalte mig også at drengen på monumentet over Den Franske
Skole, det var såmændt hendes lille dreng der har stået model til
ham.
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Zoologisk Have er en de utallige arbejdspladser
jeg har arbejdet på, og jeg har altid haft en umættelig viden
begærlighed så da jeg en dag spiste frokost med en der fortalte at
han kunne huske da de fejlbombede Den Franske Skole blev min/vores
frokost lidt rigelig lang.
Han fortalte ret malende at bombeflyende var kommet langs
Roskildevej (2. bølge af bombefly) i 30 - 40 meters højde og
lige før Zoo-Tårnet havde flyene vippet op på højkant og havde
taget retning mod Shellhuset lige bagom tårnet, det var desværre
også retningen mod Den Franske Skole, hvor den flyver der havde
ramt en lysmast var styrtet ned i et garageanlæg.
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Cache serien om Operation Carthage
Består af 3 caches:
Her kan du få mere at vide om Operation Carthage:
Video klip fra Shellhus bombardementet
Bøger:
- Ahlmann, Henrik: (2005) Den Franske Skole, RAF'S angreb på
Shellhuset 21.3.1945, En kortlægning af katastrofen på
Frederiksberg og Vesterbro ISBN 87-990654-0-1
- Sasbye, Kjeld Mahler: Operation Carthage ISBN
87-985141-0-5
- Hove, Peder: En dag i marts : Shellhusbombardementet ISBN
87-00-23984-4
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Om Cachen:
Cachen er et filmhylster, som sidder fast med en magnet.
Koordinaterne bringer dig til monumentet for bombningen af Den
Franske Skole.
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Der er et trin op til monumentet |
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Her skal du finde nogle tal.
Cifferne i tallene du finder skal sorteres i
stigene rækkefølge, f.eks.:
Hvis tallene er 6, 17, 9 og 6 stilles tallene således op:
16679 så fuldendes rækken således med de tal der mangler
16679023458 nu er:
a=1, b=6, c=6, d=7, e=9, f=0, g=2, h=3, i=4, j=5 og k=8
Dette var bare et eksempel. |
Bag på selve monumentet er der et årstal.
- Cifferne i årstallet bruges efter ovenstående princip
Cachen ligger så på:
N
55°40.gha - E 012°3f.abj
Reduceret tværsum for N = 7 - E = 2
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Operation Carthage - The bombing
of the Shell Building
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The Shell Building in Copenhagen served as a
Gestapo Headquarters during WW2. By the end of 1944 the
resistance-movement in Copenhagen was in danger of being rolled up
by the Gestapo. Many of the leaders had been arrested and a lot of
material was filed in the archives of the Shell Building. In order
to have the files destroyed the leading members of the Resistance
had requested an attack on the Shell Building by the Royal Air
Force (RAF). Recently, a similar operation had been carried out on
the Gestapo Headquarters at the University of Aarhus.
On march 21st at 0855, the Operation Carthage commenced and 20
Mosquitos of the no. 2 light bomber group, escorted by 30
Mustangs from the 11th fighter group took off from
RAF Fersfield in Norfolk. 18 of the bombers were Mosquito F.B. Mk. VI and 2 were Mosquito B. Mk. IV
from the film production unit (FPU). The bombers carried 44x500
pound bombs and took a low altitude flight path over the North
Sea and though Denmark.
The formation arrived at Tissø, a lake in western Zeeland, and
split up in three waves: no. 1: 7 Mosquitos (one FPU) and 12
Mustangs, no. 2: 6 Mosquitos and no. 3: 7 Mosquitos (one FPU). The
first wave flew directly to Copenhagen while the rest of the
formation circled at Tissø. After each circling the next wave set
course to Copenhagen. The three waves arrived in Copenhagen with a
time offset of 4 minute between the waves.
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Accidental bombing of the Jeanne D’Arc
School
Newspaper clipping:
The Jeanne D'Arc
School in flames.
English bombing mission ends
in tragedy
by Christine Sass-Nielsen and Ida Liebe Bentsen
Yesterday, on March 21 an English bomber plane crashed at the
Jeanne D'Arc School in Copenhagen, and lead to the accidental
bombing of the School. So far 112 children and adults have been
killed by the tragic event, and several hundred are injured.
"It’s late morning and the air is warm. The School hour is in full
swing as usual. Sirens are sounding all over town. The by now
trivial procedure of lining up the children and getting them down
in the shelters of the basement begins.
Suddenly a loud noise is sounding and the whole house is
trembling. Feverish, a teacher runs to the nearby window and looks
out. Everything is burning.
Shortly after it trembles again, but this time the school is hit.
Wild chaos emerges when bricks are falling all around us, and the
smoke from the flames becomes suffocatingly dense. Everybody tries
to escape out in the free air.“
These are the words of a teacher at the Jeanne D'Arc School
describing when the school accidentally was bombed.
Little did they know that an English bomber plane has crashed,
giving the other pilots the false impression that this was their
real target.
The Shell Building. The Gestapo was using the Shell Building, and
here they had their archive, for which reason it was an obvious
target for the allied forces. The bombing already was complicated
by the fact that Gestapo had placed members of the Danish
Resistance like Poul Sørensen and Mogens Fogh in the building.
26 members of the Resistance managed to escape from the building,
while 8 perished. In addition to that 10 English officers lost
their life and 12 civilians at Sønder Boulevard. For the time being
the German casualties amounts to 74, of which 23 were Danish
collaborators.
For at long time the allied forces had eavesdropped on telephone
conversations between the German Headquarters in Copenhagen and
Berlin, and has learned that the Germans was planning the largest
ever raid in Copenhagen at the end of this month.
The following telegram was sent to London on March 15: Military
leaders arrested, and our plans are in the hands of the Germans.
Never before has the situation been so desperate. We regroup, but
we need help. A Bombing of the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen
will give us the needed time. If the Danish resistance-movement was
at all important the RAF had to attack at all costs. If you come to
our rescue we never ever will forget the RAF and you.
The mission was successfully accomplished because most of the
members of the Resistance managed to escape, and all the German
files was destroyed, but unfortunately it was a success with a
harsh price to pay for the many families that lost a loved
one. |
My own experiences:
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I often take a walk at Frederiksberg Cemetery,
because I like the place, and here my late wife is buried.
During these walks I have acquired an intimate knowledge of the
place and here I’ve seen many of the headstones on the graves of
those killed by the bombardment of the French School.
On one such walk an elderly lady approached me and asked if I
could point her to the grave of Adam Ohlenschlaeger. I escorted her
to his grave and during the walk our conversation was about the
cemetery as such, as well as the bombardment of the French School.
“My children were attending that school”, the lady told me.
On that fatal morning her two children had been waiting in the
kitchen for their mother to prepare their sandwiches. They were
late because they had spent the weekend in their summerhouse and
the night before they couldn’t get home because their car was
unable to start, for what reason they didn’t arrive home until that
fatal morning. The problem with the car probably saved the lives of
her children.
H She told me that ever after that fatal morning she never again
complained when the car was unable to start. “It probably was for a
good reason”, she said to me with a smile.
She also told me that her little boy was used as a model for the
boy on the Memorial Monument for the bombing of the French
School.
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The Zoo in Copenhagen is one of the many
different places I’ve been employed, and I always have had a
unquenchable thirst for new knowledge, so when one day during lunch
hour a workmate said he could remember the fatal accidental bombing
of the French School my/our lunch hour became a rather lengthy
one.
In a very animated way he told that the bomber planes came in
along Roskildevej ((2. wave of bomber planes)) at a height
of 30 - 40 meters above the ground and immediately before reaching
Zoo-Tower the planes abruptly changed their direction of flight to
a flight path directly toward the Shell Building behind the
Zoo-Tower, unfortunately this also was the direction to the French
School where one of the planes had hit a high lightmast and had
crashed into a garage.
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Cache serie about the Operation
Carthage
Consists of 3 caches:
Learn more about operation Carthage here:
Video from The bombing of the Shell
Building
Books (only in danish):
- Ahlmann, Henrik: (2005) Den Franske Skole, RAF'S angreb på
Shellhuset 21.3.1945, En kortlægning af katastrofen på
Frederiksberg og Vesterbro ISBN 87-990654-0-1
- Sasbye, Kjeld Mahler: Operation Carthage ISBN
87-985141-0-5
- Hove, Peder: En dag i marts : Shellhusbombardementet ISBN
87-00-23984-4
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About the Cache:
The Cache is a Film Cannister, held in place by a magnet.
The Coordinates points you to the Monument of the bombing of the
Jeanne D'Arc School.
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One step up to the Monument |
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Here you have to find some numbers.
The digits in the numbers you find must be
sorted in ascending order, like:
If the numbers are 6, 17, 9 and 6 the digits are arranged like
this:
16679 the row has to be completed with the missing digits like
16679023458
Now a=1, b=6, c=6, d=7, e=9, f=0, g=2, h=3, i=4, j=5 and k=8
This was just an example. |
On the backside of the monument you can find a year.
- The digits in the year is used after the principle demonstrated
above
The Cache then is found at:
N
55°40.gha - E 012°3f.abj
Reduced Cross Sum for N = 7 - E = 2
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